Amberley imprint: 2705 books

Used most famously in December 1942, when a small group of ten men in five canoes were dropped off by submarine 80 miles from the inland port of Bordeaux. Taking a couple of days to get to Bordeaux, the men laid limpit mines on a series of German ships, sinking one and seriously damaging others. These...

This new compilation of photographs of East Grinstead, its locality and people, comprises 180 unpublished images, mostly dating from c. 1902-3 onwards, and all but ten from the collection at East Grinstead Museum. Nearly all were taken by local professional photographers, and it is by individual photographer...

The fishing industry has always played an important part in Ireland’s history. From the deep-sea trawlers to the traditional vessels that sailed around the coast, the harbours of Ireland were once full of craft, large and small, that employed men and women in their thousands. Since Ireland’s entry...

‘I saw a mass of ME 109s and went up to attack. I looked behind and found three on each side diving to attack me.’ Bob Doe, Combat Report 16 August 1940 In June 1940, at the age of twenty, Bob Doe believed himself to be the worst pilot in his squadron. Just three months later he was a highly decorated...

Geoff Swaine’s superb photography captures the very best of Britain’s preserved steam in action at locations throughout the country. Following on from Britain’s Heritage Railways: Preserved Steam Volume 1, Geoff Swaine presents a new collection of images covering some of Britain’s most celebrated...

Cardiff, the Welsh capital and home to the National Assembly of Wales, is a modern vibrant city with many attractions for visitors from all over the world. An insignificant little fishing port with a couple of churches became, in industrial times, a boom town, in which churches and chapels of all...

Many parish churches and chapels are the oldest building in their town or village; some of them may be over a thousand years old. Throughout their long history these pillars of community have usually witnessed change, sometimes beyond recognition. Countless houses of worship bear the scars of trials...

As soon as we set foot in Chester we are taken back to the Middle Ages; time seems to have slipped backwards. Is it a dream? Or are these decorated timber-framed houses, like big doll’s houses, actually for ordinary habitation. We look around and see a fairytale city with its castle looking down...

Using postcards from the twentieth century, Copeland: The Postcard Collection takes a look at the borough in earlier times. Copeland was established in the mid-1970s following the amalgamation of the Borough of Whitehaven, Ennerdale Rural District Council and Millom Rural District Council. It takes...

From its birth as a settlement at the lowest crossing point of the River Taff, via periods a Roman garrison, Anglo-Norman fortress, feudal lordship, booming coal port and post-industrial invalid, through to today’s confident capital of a fledgling Welsh democracy, Cardiff has accrued layer upon...

As long ago as 1720, Daniel Defoe commented on the charm of the Stanmore area and it is not without that charm today. A popular suburb within the London Borough of Harrow, the ancient settlement of Stanmore is unique in many ways. Well-known local historian and author Geoffrey Hewlett reveals the...

Situated a few miles to the south of Manchester City Centre, the Four Heatons have always been popular residential suburbs for families wishing to swap the industrial clamour of the inner city for fresh air and fine views across open spaces to the Pennines and the Cheshire Plain. The coming of the...

The River Forth is one of Scotland’s great waterways. It has a majestic history and heritage, part of which is the Forth bridges. Of these, the most iconic is the Forth Rail Bridge, which opened in 1890. But there is also the Kincardine Bridge, opened in 1936 and once the longest swing bridge in...

When Daniel Defoe, the author of A Tour through the Whole Island of Great Britain, visited Shropshire in the early 1720s, on his journey from Shrewsbury to Lichfield he travelled along what he called ‘The Great Ancient Road’. Both before and since Defoe’s time, this road has played a vital role...